Francis Gilles Poullain-Patterson (born 15 April 1967), better known as Frankie Poullain, is the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

player for rock band

The Darkness Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness or The Darkness may also refer to: Film and television * ''Dark'' (TV series), a 2017 German-language TV series produced by Netflix * Darknss, a character from the film ''Legend'' (1985) * ''Darkne ...

. He was raised in

Milnathort Milnathort is a small town in the parish of Orwell in the county of Kinross-shire, Scotland and since 1996, the local council area of Perth and Kinross. The smaller neighbour of nearby Kinross, Milnathort has a population of around 2,000 peopl ...

then

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. He attended the Royal High School, leaving in 1985. Poullain was the only original Darkness member not from the

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

area. Poullain left the band on 23 May 2005, citing "musical differences" as the reason. He was replaced by

Richie Edwards Richie Edwards (born 25 September 1974) is an English musician. He is the former bassist of the British hard rock band The Darkness and the guitarist/vocalist of their successor band Stone Gods. He was confirmed as a member on 13 June 200 ...

, a former guitar technician for the band. His departure caused quite a stir with the press, most notably in the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' magazine where he was reportedly regarded as their favourite member of the band. However, in 2011 The Darkness officially announced that they were to reunite, with all 4 original members. Frankie described this as being "Just like old times". The band sub-headlined Download Festival at Donington Park, England in June 2011, playing under

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

. They also played at Hammersmith, with

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

guitarist Brian May joining the band. The band's third studio album ''

Hot Cakes ''Hot Cakes'' is the third studio album by British rock band the Darkness, released on 20 August 2012 on Canary Dwarf Records. Produced by Nick Brine and band members Justin and Dan Hawkins, the album is the band's first since their 2011 reun ...

'' was released in early 2012, as the band embarked on the Hot Cakes tour. Frankie's autobiography ''Dancing in the Darkness'' (John Blake Publishing), charting the ups and downs of life with the band, was released in November 2008. He is a step-brother of comedian

Phil Kay Phil Kay (born 1969) is a Scottish stand-up comedian. Biography Education Kay was educated at Craigclowan Preparatory School in Perth, Scotland, and at nearby Glenalmond College. Early career Kay became known to the public when he won the ...

Equipment

He plays a Gibson Thunderbird IV bass guitar (nicknamed "the brown bastard"), recognizable for its reverse body design. He received this from a man in Wales named "Ray" who was in a band called " The Pooh Sticks." When playing live he allows natural distortion to take place for effect. He also uses a

Fender Precision Bass The Fender Precision Bass (often shortened to "P-Bass") is a model of electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrum ...

, Ampeg VT, Mesa Boogie, 50 watt hand-wired Marshall guitar combo and a Sans Amp bass driver.Frankie Poullain's Equipment
at outofthedarkness.co.uk

References

External links

FlamingWhopper.com
UK based fan website for The Darkness, Stone Gods, Hot Leg & British Whale (Established 2005)
outofthedarkness.co.uk
, Fan based media website for The Darkness, Stone Gods, Hot Leg and British Whale 1967 births Living people Scottish bass guitarists The Darkness (band) members {{UK-bass-guitarist-stub